Brush and guard therefor



Patented Aug. 11, 1936 Clyde A. Porter, Aurora, Ill., assignor to National Brush Company, Aurora, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application February 11, 1935, serial No. 5,918

2 Claims.

This invention relates Yto brushes and more particularly to the combination of brushes and guards. "It, is especially valuable in connection with small brushes designed for suede shoes and :ofjajsizesuitable to be'carried in handbags, al-

though there' are many other brushes to which the'invention may also be applied advantageously.

Suede brushes are -usually made with fine strands of a soft metal such as brass or copper,

i -andfas'ia'consequence.the strands are very easily bent so far as to lose their shape permanently. If a brush should be carried around without a guard it would soon become very unsightly and would lose its eiectiveness. In addition there is the danger that it will tear cloth with which it comes in contact, or cause injury to the lingers in reaching for or handling the brush.

According to the present invention a brush of a small size suitable for carrying in handbags is provided with a guard which is easily removed and applied, and which takes up little or no extra room, thereby protecting the strands of the brush and also protecting the bag from being soiled or damaged by the brush.

It is an object of the present invention to provide such a brush and guard, and to make practical the carrying of a suede brush in a handbag.

It is a further object to provide a construction for such a brush and guard as may be manufactured cheaply and yet be neat and attractive in appearance.

An additional object is tomake the brush and guard trouble-free and of a lasting durability.

Another object is to so construct the brush and guard that they may be put together with the guard in an alternative position that leaves the strands exposed for use, the guard preferably forming an enlargement or elongation of the handle of the brush.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description, taken with the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the brush and guard chosen for illustration.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the same taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guard.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the brush showing the guard partly removed.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the brush showing the guard in place as an extension of the handle.

Although this invention may take numerous forms, only one has been chosen for illustration. In this form the brush comprises a handle or back,

(Cl. 15-'184l II and suitable bristles or strands l2 madeof a material depending upon the intended use. If

. the brush is to be .used as a suede brush the strands will be made of a soft-metal such as brass or possibly copper and will be of a ne size.

' The handle vIl is preferably' provided with grooves I3, the top vand bottom walls of which. areV preferably parallel and substantially horizontal, atleast in their'fdeeper portions. The ends Vof thesefgrooves. mayxof coursev be somewhat enlarged in order to facilitate the insertion of the guard therein. The guard in its preferred form comprises a sheet metal clip Ill provided with flanges I6 turned inwardly and preferably extending a short distance substantially horizontally. The clip or guard I4 is substantially U-shaped and is so shaped that the flanges I6 will slide into and out of the grooves I3 as illustrated in Fig. 5. Of course the guard may be made of any other suitable material such as a molded plastic.

Because of the substantially horizontal top and bottom walls of the slots I3 and the substantially horizontally extending flanges I6, the guard can neither be pulled off of the brush, except by sliding as indicated in Fig. 5, nor telescoped further onto it. By substantially horizontal is meant such an angle that pulling on the guard will not normally cause the side of the guard to spread. It is an angle such that in resisting a pull, the friction is greater than the lateral thrust. The metal clip is preferably made of a temipered steel or some other metal having suicient rigidity and resiliency to engage the brush firmly, and should be so shaped as to have a slight clamping effect on the handle of the brush so as to frictionally resist a sliding movement.

The handle Il may be suitably painted or otherwise decorated and the metal guard may be decorated as by polishing and burnishing, or etching,

Except for the features noted, both the handle and the guard may have almost any desired shape. The shapes substantially as illustrated are preferred, however, since, by having the side Walls of the guard diverge downwardly, they will substantially follow the natural spread of the strands of the brush and therefore will not unduly disturb the strands of the brush when being slipped thereover. Furthermore, when the guard has been removed from its usual position it may be placed in the alternative position shown in Fig. 6 in which ribs I1 formed in the side walls of the guard engage the slots I3. In this position the guard I I forms an elongation of the handle II which somewhat facilitates the use of the brush.

Because the ribs I'I are not as thin as the flanges I6, it may be best to slightly enlarge the grooves I3 along the outer edges thereof so that they will receive said ribs.

The guard I4 may be slid all the way onto the handle I I so that it substantially vhidesjthe wooden handle. This is advantageousv if the brush is to be left out of the handbag, since it keeps the guard and brush together while leaving the brush ready for use. The handle may be reduced in height 'to be even smaller vthan that shown, and it may be a mere back to which the strands are attached. In that event the attachment of the guard to the handle will be necessary in order to secure a conveniently sized handle.

Although but one embodiment of my invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is to be understood that I am not limited thereby, but limit miyinvention only by the'scope of the appended claims, interpreted as broadly as the prior art will permit. l

I claim:

1. The combination of a brush comprising a back having longitudinal grooves in the side thereof, and brush strands extending from the bottoml thereof', and a substantially U-shaped open-ended guard with said guard having an inwardly extending ange at each of the upper edges thereof and an inwardly extending bead slightly below said flange, each ange being at times slidably positioned in said grooves, said back and said guard being so shaped that said guard may be inverted and slipped into engagement with said back by sliding said beads into said grooves to form an outer handle therefor, said iianges then tting over the bottom of the back, and with said guard inclined inwardly from the base thereof to the inwardly extending beads and the flanged edges to provide a pinching action of said guard at said grooves.

2. The combination of a brush comprising a back having brush strands extending from the bottom and a longitudinal groove in each side thereof, and a substantially U-shaped openended sheet metal guard, with said guard having an inwardly extending flange at each of the upper edges thereof and an inwardly extending bead slightly below eachV flange, each of said anges being at times slidably positioned in one 'of said grooves, said'back and said guard being so shaped that said guard may be inverted and slipped into engagement with said back by slid-- 

